Transaction components are portable items that store data, such as credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, access cards, and cards for various prepaid services or goods. Magnetically encoded transaction components typically store data in a magnetic strip. An example of a transaction component is a “smart card,” which stores data in nonvolatile memory and typically contains data processing circuitry that offers some degree of computing capacity.
A smart card can be a “proximity read” smart card, which can communicate with a point of sale device without physically contacting the point of sale device. Communication between a proximity read smart card and various types of point of sale devices can occur via a radio frequency signal, optical signal, wireless Internet connection, magnetic or other communication method known in the art. A proximity read smart card can be a radio frequency identification card, or RFID card, but other technologies might be used. When an RFID card is brought into the proximity of a point of sale device, a radio frequency signal can be exchanged between the RFID card and the point of sale device. A RFID card can be used to make automatic payments at, for example, highway tolls, or to provide access to restricted areas. A RFID card in an automobile can be read by a point of sale device at a toll booth. As the automobile passes through the toll booth, the point of sale device can cause a toll to be automatically deducted from a prepaid account or billed to a credit card.
A mobile device, such as a mobile phone, can include a transaction component, which can include a smart card. The transaction component on a mobile device can include not only the smart card itself, but also all of the mobile device hardware and software that promotes transactions. Thus, if a point of sale device is present at a location where commercial transactions occur or where proximity read smart cards are used, a transaction component in a mobile phone can make payments, provide access to restricted areas, and perform other functions or transactions typically performed by smart cards. A mobile device can implement the functionality of multiple smart cards by containing a multiple application-smart card, a smart card that contains smart card applications from one or more application providers. A smart card application is an application that resides in a smart card operating system to perform certain desired functions. An application provider is an entity that owns a smart card application and is responsible for providing customer support for the smart card application. Multiple smart card applications on a smart card enable the multiple application-smart card to perform functions corresponding to each smart card application. Each smart card application on the multiple application-smart card can be provided by different application providers. A mobile device user can use a mobile wallet to select any of the multiple smart card applications for a transaction.
Due to the complexities of the hardware and software involved with mobile devices, transaction components, smart cards, smart card applications, and point of sale devices, errors often occur during transactions between a transaction component on a mobile device and a point of sale device.